British officials said the scheme is based on the Know-How Fund set up by Margaret Thatcher following the fall of the Berlin Wall to help Poland and other former Soviet bloc states make the transition to democracy.

The move came as EU leaders meeting in Brussels agreed there would be no easing of sanctions against Moscow until it was clear the Minsk ceasefire deal was being fully honoured.

President Vladimir Putin is set to appear in public later after an unusually long 10-day absence. Putin is expected to meet with Kyrgyzstan President Almazbek Atambayev in Saint Petersburg.
A Kremlin official told AFP that the meeting was on track to take place.

Russia's President Putin to return after 10 day absence. Credit: PA

The Russian President was last seen in public at a news conference on March 5 with Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi.